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This Month In Clay Target Nation

January 26, 2026 By hdyer

The February issue of Clay Target Nation is packed full of tips and tactics that will help you find more success and have more fun on the sporting clays course or the skeet field this season.

In our Training Tips columns, John Shima advises shooters on how they can use discipline to develop confidence, while Bill Elliott encourages you to build a vision for 2026 and make it happen, keeping an eye on your goals.

We kick off the features with an in-depth piece that examines free recoil — what exactly it is and how we can minimize it. Paul Giambrone III has an article advising skeet shooters to stop expecting perfection, while Anthony Matarese Jr. takes a look at some of the reasons we miss targets and offers tips on cleaning up your game. Haylyn Hanks chimes in with tips on building a winning mindset, and Victoria Stellato has lots of advice for prepping for your first tournament. Don’t miss Dr. Richard Colo’s article on how to properly use your vision in skeet and sporting clays, and finally, sporting clays shooters will want to check out our preview of this year’s upcoming Regional shoots, including a unique new format for the Northeast Regional.

Advertisers in the February issue are:

Clay Target Nation is available monthly to all members in digital and/or print form. Not a member? You can receive the next issue when you join at http://nssa-nsca.org/join-nssa-nsca/.

K-80 Raffle Winner Announced

October 30, 2022 By hdyer

On Friday, October 28, during the Top Gun Shoot-Out at the National Sporting Clays Championship, a drawing was held for the winner of the Krieghoff K-80 raffle. Congratulations to Bill Wilford of Musella, Georgia, who was drawn as the winner of the gun, and he will have his choice of a K-80 Pro Sporter, Sporter, or Parcours model with gold standard engraving and color case-hardened finish. The retail value of the shotgun is $23,090.

A total of 460 tickets were sold. Proceeds from the raffle help to fund the USA Sporting Clays Team as well as the NSSA and NSCA All-American Teams.

Thank you to Krieghoff for the generous donation and to all those who purchased tickets.

2021 World Shoot Photo Gallery

October 22, 2021 By hdyer

Whether you missed the World Skeet Championships this year and want to get a peek at the action, or you were there and are hoping to relive the memories, please enjoy this selection of photos from the 2021 World Shoot.

Click on a photo to enlarge.

Photos by Lefty Ray Chapa and Josh Poole

Houston Deshotels Wins HOA at 2021 World Skeet Championships

October 10, 2021 By hdyer

2021 World Skeet Championships HOA winners, left to right: Steven Wood, third; Houston Deshotels, champion; and Taylor Nicosia, runner-up

The NSSA congratulates Houston Deshotels, who won both HOA and HAA at the 2021 World Skeet Championships, held October 4-8 at the National Shooting Complex in San Antonio.

Deshotels was perfect going into Friday’s .410 bore event, where he dropped only one target to finish the World Skeet Championships with a score of 449. Taylor Nicosia, who had dropped a target earlier in the week in the 28-gauge event, shot 100 straight in the .410 to tie Deshotels at 449 for HOA. Deshotels was the victor in the shoot-off, giving him his first HOA World Skeet Championship. He was also Triple-Sub Champion. Nicosia finished as HOA runner-up and Lady Champion. She also won Lady Champion in the Wayne Mayes Championship event, Lady runner-up in the 20-gauge and the .410, and Lady third in the 28-gauge and doubles.

Steven Wood, Cooper Oliver and Dessislav Ivanov battled it out in a shoot-off of 447s for the third spot on the HOA podium; Ivanov went out first and finished AAA1. Oliver went out next, finishing AA1, which left Wood as HOA third. Other class winners were Katie Hunt, A1; Tim Robinson, B1; Katie Lackey, C1; Michael Rykaczewski Sr., D1; and Steve Scales, E1. Katherine Adams was Lady runner-up, and Lauren Burge was Lady third.

With a score of 549, Deshotels was also HAA Champion, with Nicosia runner-up (547) and Ivanov third (546).

Also winning World Championships were Josh Poole, doubles and .410 bore; Robert Hicklin, 12-gauge; Michael Schmidt, 20-gauge; and Ryan Smithart, 28-gauge.

The previous weekend, at the Mini World, HOA winners included Alessandro Vitale, champion; Mike Woolard, runner-up; and Riley Chaddock, third. Vitale was also HAA Champion. Taylor Nicosia won doubles, Edward Smith won the 12-gauge, Michael Rykaczewski Jr. won the 20-gauge, and Josh Poole won the .410 bore. Wayne Mayes Championship winners were Ivanov, champion; Paul Newman, runner-up; and Nicosia, third.

Photo Gallery: 2021 Kolar U.S. Open Skeet Championship

July 20, 2021 By hdyer

With 785 shooters in the HOA, the 2021 Kolar U.S. Open iShoot was a success by all accounts. Held simultaneously at 15 different clubs across multiple states and time zones, the event saw terrific attendance and stiff competition. Stuart Brown, shooting at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, broke 399×400 to win HOA outright.

Enjoy this series of photos from various clubs. If you have photos from a club that’s not represented here, you can email them to hdyer@nssa-nsca.com, and we’ll be happy to add to our photo gallery.

Click on the photo to enlarge.